FLT-4(FMS-like tyrosine kinase), FLT-15, variants thereof used as growth factor inhibitors

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an altered, soluble form of the FLT polypeptide being capable of binding to VEGF and thereby exerting an inhibitory effect thereon, the polypeptide comprising five or fewer complete immunoglobulin-like domains, together with pharmaceutical compositions comprising the polypeptide, and various uses thereof.

This application is the national stage of PCT/GB95/01213, filed May 26, 1995.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to substances which inhibit growth factors, in particular, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), methods of inhibiting growth factors and of treating tumours and regulating fertility.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A considerable number of human growth factors are now known, many of which have been at least partly characterised. Among them is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which has been identified in several tissues (Gospodarowicz et al., 1989 PNAS 86, 7311-7315; Conn et al., 1990 PNAS 87, 2628-2632; Tischer et al., 1991 J. Biol. Chem. 266, 11947-11954). As its name suggests, this growth factor is a highly specific mitogen for endothelial cells and is greatly involved in angiogenesis. VEGF is a homodimeric glycoprotein of two 23 kDa subunits exhibiting sequence homology with platelet-derived growth factor A and B chains and placenta growth factor.

The homologous tyrosine kinase receptors fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor (FLT) and kinase insert domain-containing receptor (KDR) function as high-affinity VEGF receptors (de Vries et al., 1992 Science 255, 989-991; Terman et al., 1992 Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 187, 1579-1586). Both FLT and KDR are membrane-spanning receptors that each contain seven immunoglobulin-like domains in the extracellular ligand-binding region, an intracellular tyrosine kinase domain and a transmembrane domain. The transmembrane domain serves to anchor the receptor in the cell membrane of the cells in which it is expressed.

A number of membrane-bound receptor molecules have been found to exist in truncated soluble forms, generated either by proteolytic processing or by alternative splicing of mRNA. Recently, Kendall & Thomas (1993 PNAS 90, 10,705-10,709, and WO94/21679) described the discovery of a soluble form of FLT receptor (sFLT) generated by alternative splicing.

Essentially, Kendall & Thomas screened a human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) cDNA library with one probe specific for the 3' end of the fit coding region (encoding the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain) and with another probe specific for the 5' fit coding portion (encoding one of the extracellular N terminal domains). Clones which hybridised with the 5' specific probe but not with the 3' specific probe were selected for further study. In this way, a clone was isolated which encoded a soluble FLT polypeptide lacking the transmembrane domain and the intracellular domain. The truncation resulted from "readthrough" to an intronic termination codon. It was suggested by Kendall & Thomas that the soluble receptor could act as an efficient specific antagonist of VEGF in vivo.

The present invention is based on the discovery of further soluble variants of FLT, the existence of which was not predicted by the teaching of Kendall & Thomas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect the invention provides an altered, soluble form of the FLT polypeptide being capable of binding to VEGF and therebv exerting an inhibitory effect thereon, the polypeptide comprising five or fewer complete immunoglobulin-like domains. Preferably, the altered FLT polypeptide comprises four or fewer complete Ig-like domains. The altered soluble FLT polypeptide inhibits VEGF by preventing it binding to its natural receptors, fit and KDR, present on the surface of target cells. Surprisingly, such truncated forms, lacking a major extracellular portion of the molecule, are believed to retain affinity for VEGF.

The term "soluble" as used herein is intended to refer to altered forms of the FLT polypeptide which do not comprise a transmembrane domain and thus generally do not become associated with the cell membrane of cells in which the molecule is expressed. In particular, the invention provides soluble altered forms of the FLT polypeptide consisting substantially of four or five complete immunoglobulin-like domains.

In a particular embodiment the invention provides an altered, soluble form of FLT having at its C-terminus a region substantially having the amino acid sequence of the sequences termed FLT4 or FLT15 shown in FIG. 5, or a functional equivalent thereof. The term "functional equivalent" as used above is intended to include those polypeptides which have substantially the same deletions as the polypeptides encoded by FLT4 (SEQ ID NO:8) or FLT15 (SEQ ID NO:9) (with respect to the unaltered full length FLT molecule), but which may also have other deletions, additions or substitutions, (in particular conservative substitutions), and which retain an inhibitory effect for VEGF.

Preferably the polypeptide will also comprise, at its N-terminus, the amino acid sequence substantially corresponding to the equivalent portion of the unaltered wild-type FLT polypeptide. Conveniently, polypeptides in accordance with the invention will comprise around 400 to 500 amino acid residues, preferably around 480 amino acid residues, most preferably between 480 and 440 amino acid residues of the wild type FLT sequence. Preferably the polypeptides of the invention arise by alternative splicing of mRNA or by proteolytic processing of a mature polypeptide, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the polypeptide could be encoded by a nucleic acid derived, at least in part, by recombinant DNA technology.

In a further aspect the invention provides a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide in accordance with the invention. In a particular embodiment the invention provides a nucleic acid comprising the sequence of nucleotides inserted at position 1655 of the FLT 4 sequence shown in FIG. 3 or the sequence of nucleotides inserted at position 1555 of the FLT 15 sequence shown in FIG. 3, or a functional equivalent thereof. Examples of functionally equivalent nucleic acids include those sequences which encode substantially the same polypeptide as those encoded by FLT4 or FLT15 but which differ in nucleotide sequence as a result of the degeneracy of the genetic code. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the portion of the inserted nucleotide sequence in FLT4 and FLT15 occurring after the premature termination codon could be omitted without affecting the characteristics of the encoded polypeptide. Accordingly, nucleic acid molecules without such sequences are also regarded as functionally equivalent for the purposes of the present invention.

Conveniently, the nucleic acid will substantially comprise the nucleotide sequence of FLT4 or FLT15 shown in FIG. 3, together with the nucleotide sequence encoding the N-terminus of unaltered, wild-type FLT. Advantageously, the nucleic acid will be obtainable by means of PCR amplification from a sample of human cells. Desirably, the nucleic acid will be obtainable by means of PCR using primers intended to hybridise to non-conserved regions of the FLT molecule. Conveniently, the nucleic acid sequence will be obtainable by use of PCR primers designed to hybridise to the regions of the FLT sequence shown underlined in FIG. 3. or immediately adjacent thereto. In particular, the PCR primers will conveniently have substantially the sequence: 5'-GCAAGGTGTGACTTTGTTC-3' (SEQ ID NO:10) and 5'-AGGATTTCTTCCCCTGTGTA-3' (SEQ ID NO:11).

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of inhibiting VEGF in vitro, comprising adding an effective amount of the polypeptide defined above. It may also be desirable to inhibit VEGF in a human subject. Thus the invention provides a method of inhibitng VEGF in a human subject, comprising administering an effective amount of the polypeptide defined above, together with a physiologically acceptable carrier substance. In particular, VEGF provides a mitogenic stimulus (particularly involved in angiogenesis), so inhibition of VEGF would be expected to provide therapeutic effects in the treatment of tumours or disorders involving inappropriate neovascularisation.

In particular the invention provides for a method of treating tumours or diseases involving inappropriate neovascularisation, comprising administering an effective amount of the polypeptide defined above, together with a physiologically acceptable carrier substance. Suitable diseases which might be amenable to treatment include ovarian cancer and ovarian hyperstimulation (Boocock et al., 1995 J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 87, 506-516).

Furthermore, it has been conclusively demonstrated that FLT is expressed by trophoblasts and cells from ovarian and endometrial tissues (Charnock-Jones et al., 1994 Biology of Reproduction 51, 524-530), which clearly suggests a role for VEGF in the growth and differentiation of trophoblasts during implantation.

Thus, in particular, the invention provides a method of affecting the growth and/or migration of trophoblasts, ovarian or endometrial cells by inhibiting the action of VEGF, comprising administering an effective amount of the polypeptide defined above, together with a physiologically acceptable carrier substance.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the identification of FLT on the surface of trophoblasts and endometrial cells also provides a number of possible methods of regulating fertility. For example, the growth of trophoblasts is essential for successful implantation of the embryo. Inhibition of trophoblast growth thus provides a method of contraception or contragestion.

Thus in a further aspect the invention provides a method of regulating the fertility of a human female, comprising administering an effective amount of the polypeptide defined above, together with a physiologically acceptable carrier substance. An "effective amount" of the polypeptide is an amount sufficient to substantially block the stimulus of VEGF on trophoblasts and/or endometrial cells. Typically, the method will result in reducing the fertility of the female.

Moreover, it might be possible to identify agents which can enhance the effect of VEGF on trophoblasts, and thereby improve the probability of successful implantation, either in assisted or spontaneous cycles. Candidates for such VEGF-enhancing agents would include anti-sense equivalents of the nucleic acid sequences encoding the truncated FLT polypeptides of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these could be used to improve the fertility of a human female.

In a further aspect the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising the polypeptide defined above, together with a physiologically acceptable carrier substance. The composition could be used in vivo any one of the methods defined above. In yet another aspect the invention provides for the use of a polypeptide in accordance with the invention in the preparation of a therapeutic composition for the treatment of tumours and diseases involving inappropriate neovascularisation. Examples of such conditions and diseases are detailed, inter alia, in WO94/10202 and WO94/21679. The invention also includes within its scope a method of making a pharmaceutical compostion, comprising mixing the polypeptide defined above together with a physiologically acceptable carrier substance.

The invention will now be described by way of the following illustrative examples and with reference to the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an amino acid multiple alignment of closely related tyrosine kinase receptors (flt (SEQ ID NO:3), fms (SEQ ID NO:2) and kit (SEQ ID NO:1), "kit" being another name for KDR);

FIG. 2 shows typical results of agarose gel electrophoresis demonstrating the existence of alternatively-spliced fit-coding sequences in various tissue samples;

FIG. 3 shows the nucleotide sequence of the 3' region of the sequences encoding full length VEGF receptors (FLT (SEQ ID NO:5) and the related receptor KDR (SEQ ID NO:4)), together with two sequences, FLT4 (SEQ ID NO:6) and FLT15 (SEQ ID NO:7), which encode polypeptides according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of wild type and mutant FLT molecules; and

FIG. 5 shows the C terminal amino acid sequences of two polypeptides (FLT4, SEQ ID NO:8, and FLT15, SEQ ID NO:9 respectively) in accordance with the invention.

EXAMPLE

Expression of FLT, the VEGF receptor, was investigated in cell lines derived from human trophoblast-like and ovarian and endometrial carcinomas. The trophoblast-like (choriocarcinoma) cell line used was BeWo (obtained from the American Type Culture Collection, Rockville Md., USA). The endometrial carcinoma cell lines were Ishikawa (obtained from Professor M Nishide, University of Tsukuba, Japan), and HEC 1-A and HEC 1-B (from ATCC, USA). The ovarian cancer cell lines were 7, 17R, 25, 25R and 35. These were all shown to be of epithelial origin and had been established in culture for 10-30 passages. Cell lines 17R and 25R were derived after chemotherapy and subsequent relapse (line 25R originating from the same patient as line 25).

BeWo cells were grown in Ham's F12, according to ATCC recommendations. Endometrial carcinoma lines were grown in McCoy's medium (ICN Flow Laboratories, Irvine, UK) with 10% foetal calf serum (ICN Flow) plus 2 mM L-glutamine (ICN Flow) and 50 U/ml and 50 mg/ml penicillin/streptomycin (ICN Flow).

It was decided to investigate expression of FLT in these cell lines and normal tissues by performing PCT and in situ hybridization. It was therefore necessary to construct suitable oligonucleotide primers and probes.

To help design appropriate primers, a protein multiple alignment of closely related tyrosine kinase receptors (FLT, FMS and KIT) was constructed (shown in FIG. 1) using the computer program "pileup". This revealed regions of divergent sequence among this family of receptors. The regions chosen for primer design are shown with double underlining in FIG. 1. The following nested PCR primers were then synthesized based on these protein sequences:

A) 5' GCAAGGTGTGACTTTTGTTC 3' (SEQ ID NO:10)

B) 5' GCGCTCGAGAGCATCACTCAG 3' (SEQ ID NO:13)

C) 5' GCGCGGCCGCAGTAAAATCCA 3' (SEQ ID NO:14)

D) 5' AGGATTTCTTCCCCTGTGTA 3' (SEQ ID NO:11)

The underlined portions of these oligonucleotides are the regions which hybridise to the flt cDNA sequence. The other nucleotides were added to facilitate directional cloning. The cycles used were: first round with primers A and D [95° C. 30 seconds, 55° C. 30 seconds, 72° C. 30 seconds]×25; second round with primers B and C: [95° C. 30 seconds, 44° C. 30 seconds, 72° C. 30 seconds]×2 [95° C. 30 seconds, 65° C. 30 seconds, 72° C. 30 seconds]×25. The internal primers B and C had sites for the restriction enzymes Xho I and Eag I respectively at their 5' ends to permit directional cloning of the products.

It was found that certain tissues gave rise to PCR amplification products of notably larger size (as judged by agarose gel electrophoresis) than observed for the full length FLT cDNA product. Typical results are shown in FIG. 2.

PCR products obtained using the nested set of primers A-D were run out on a gel. Lanes 1-3 are products obtained from primary tissue samples of the ovarian carcinomas designated 17, 17R and 25R. Lanes 4 to 7 are products obtained from cell lines established from the ovarian carcinomas 7, 17R, 25 and 25R. Lanes 8 to 10 are the cell lines HEC 1-A, HEC 1-B and Ishikawa respectively. Lane 11 contains products from HUVECs.

The standard size band was of the expected size (around 285 bp) and was found to be identical to the 3' end of the published fit sequence (Shibuya et al., 1990 Oncogene 5, 519-524). However it can be clearly seen that in addition to the full length fit cDNA PCR-amplified product, in lanes 2 (17R, primary tissue) and 4 (7, cell line) are larger bands of approximately 360 bp. A faint band of similar size was also apparent in lane 5 (17R, cell line) but is not clearly seen when the gel photograph is reproduced. These larger bands were extracted from the gel by known techniques and subcloned into the plasmid vector pBluescript II KS and then subjected to sequence analysis using the dideoxynucleotide sequencing method (Sanger et al., 1977 PNAS 71, 5463-5467).

Sequencing of five independent clones (Boocock et al., 1995 J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 87, 506-516) revealed that each contained one of two novel insertions within the published fit sequence, in the region between the primers. Three of these clones (termed FLT5, FLT15 and FLT16) contained an 85 bp insertion at about position 1555, whilst two other clones (FLT13 & FLT14) contained a 65 bp insertion at about position 1665 (see FIG. 3, numbering based on that of Shibuya et al., 1990 cited above). The insertions account for the larger band size of the PCR products. However, both insertions contain an in-frame termination codon, so that corresponding full length RNAs would encode soluble, truncated receptor variants comprising the first five immunoglobulin-like domains of the extracellular region, up to amino acid 517 or 553, with either 24 or 14 (of which 13 are additional) unrelated amino acids at the C-terminus.

Although these variant fit clones were derived from partial cDNAs encoding only amino acids 503 onward, PCR products of the sizes predicted for corresponding full length cDNAs were amplified from cDNA derived from HUVEC cells, human chorion and ovarian carcinoma cell line 7, using primers specific for each of the novel insertions together with a primer binding just 5' of the initiating ATG (data not shown).

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of various FLT receptor molecules. At the top, (a) shows the wild type, full length FLT receptor molecule, (b) represents the truncated version described by Kendall & Thomas, (c) represents the polypeptide encoded by FLT4 and (d) represents the polypeptide encoded by FLT15. The numerals at the right show the number of amino acids in the molecule and numerals in the boxes represent the number of amino acids present in the sFLT variants but not in the wild type molecule.

FIG. 5 shows the predicted C terminal amino acid sequence of the polypeptides which would be encoded by "full length" FLT4 and FLT15 clones (i.e. clones which contained all the nucleotide sequence 5' of the primer site used to generate the actual clones). The last 14 amino acids (SEQ ID NO:16) of the FLT4 clone, and the last 24 amino acids (SEQ ID NO:17) of the FLT15 clone, are divergent from the wild type FLT sequence.

    __________________________________________________________________________     #             SEQUENCE LISTING                                                 - (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                                     -    (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 17                                             - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 976 amino                                                          (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                  - Met Arg Gly Ala Arg Gly Ala Trp Asp Phe Le - #u Cys Val Leu Leu Leu          #                15                                                            - Leu Leu Arg Val Gln Thr Gly Ser Ser Gln Pr - #o Ser Val Ser Pro Gly          #            30                                                                - Glu Pro Ser Pro Pro Ser Ile His Pro Gly Ly - #s Ser Asp Leu Ile Val          #        45                                                                    - Arg Val Gly Asp Glu Ile Arg Leu Leu Cys Th - #r Asp Pro Gly Phe Val          #    60                                                                        - Lys Trp Thr Phe Glu Ile Leu Asp Glu Thr As - #n Glu Asn Lys Gln Asn          #80                                                                            - Glu Trp Ile Thr Glu Lys Ala Glu Ala Thr As - #n Thr Gly Lys Tyr Thr          #                95                                                            - Cys Thr Asn Lys His Gly Leu Ser Asn Ser Il - #e Tyr Val Phe Val Arg          #           110                                                                - Asp Pro Ala Lys Leu Phe Leu Val Asp Arg Se - #r Leu Tyr Gly Lys Glu          #       125                                                                    - Asp Asn Asp Thr Leu Val Arg Cys Pro Leu Th - #r Asp Pro Glu Val Thr          #   140                                                                        - Asn Tyr Ser Leu Lys Gly Cys Gln Gly Lys Pr - #o Leu Pro Lys Asp Leu          145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -        #60                                                                            - Arg Phe Ile Pro Asp Pro Lys Ala Gly Ile Me - #t Ile Lys Ser Val Lys          #               175                                                            - Arg Ala Tyr His Arg Leu Cys Leu His Cys Se - #r Val Asp Gln Glu Gly          #           190                                                                - Lys Ser Val Leu Ser Glu Lys Phe Ile Leu Ly - #s Val Arg Pro Ala Phe          #       205                                                                    - Lys Ala Val Pro Val Val Ser Val Ser Lys Al - #a Ser Tyr Leu Leu Arg          #   220                                                                        - Glu Gly Glu Glu Phe Thr Val Thr Cys Thr Il - #e Lys Asp Val Ser Ser          225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -        #40                                                                            - Ser Val Tyr Ser Thr Trp Lys Arg Glu Asn Se - #r Gln Thr Lys Leu Gln          #               255                                                            - Glu Lys Tyr Asn Ser Trp His His Gly Asp Ph - #e Asn Tyr Glu Arg Gln          #           270                                                                - Ala Thr Leu Thr Ile Ser Ser Ala Arg Val As - #n Asp Ser Gly Val Phe          #       285                                                                    - Met Cys Tyr Ala Asn Asn Thr Phe Gly Ser Al - #a Asn Val Thr Thr Thr          #   300                                                                        - Leu Glu Val Val Asp Lys Gly Phe Ile Asn Il - #e Phe Pro Met Ile Asn          305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -        #20                                                                            - Thr Thr Val Phe Val Asn Asp Gly Glu Asn Va - #l Asp Leu Ile Val Glu          #               335                                                            - Tyr Glu Ala Phe Pro Lys Pro Glu His Gln Gl - #n Trp Ile Tyr Met Asn          #           350                                                                - Arg Thr Phe Thr Asp Lys Trp Glu Asp Tyr Pr - #o Lys Ser Glu Asn Glu          #       365                                                                    - Ser Asn Ile Arg Tyr Val Ser Glu Leu His Le - #u Thr Arg Leu Lys Gly          #   380                                                                        - Thr Glu Gly Gly Thr Tyr Thr Phe Leu Val Se - #r Asn Ser Asp Val Asn          385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -        #00                                                                            - Ala Ala Ile Ala Phe Asn Val Tyr Val Asn Th - #r Lys Pro Glu Ile Leu          #               415                                                            - Thr Tyr Asp Arg Leu Val Asn Gly Met Leu Gl - #n Cys Val Ala Ala Gly          #           430                                                                - Phe Pro Glu Pro Thr Ile Asp Trp Tyr Phe Cy - #s Pro Gly Thr Glu Gln          #       445                                                                    - Arg Cys Ser Ala Ser Val Leu Pro Val Asp Va - #l Gln Thr Leu Asn Ser          #   460                                                                        - Ser Gly Pro Pro Phe Gly Lys Leu Val Val Gl - #n Ser Ser Ile Asp Ser          465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -        #80                                                                            - Ser Ala Phe Lys His Asn Gly Thr Val Glu Cy - #s Lys Ala Tyr Asn Asp          #               495                                                            - Val Gly Lys Thr Ser Ala Tyr Phe Asn Phe Al - #a Phe Lys Gly Asn Asn          #           510                                                                - Lys Glu Gln Ile His Pro His Thr Leu Phe Th - #r Pro Leu Leu Ile Gly          #       525                                                                    - Phe Val Ile Val Ala Gly Met Met Cys Ile Il - #e Val Met Ile Leu Thr          #   540                                                                        - Tyr Lys Tyr Leu Gln Lys Pro Met Tyr Glu Va - #l Gln Trp Lys Val Val          545                 5 - #50                 5 - #55                 5 -        #60                                                                            - Glu Glu Ile Asn Gly Asn Asn Tyr Val Tyr Il - #e Asp Pro Thr Gln Leu          #               575                                                            - Pro Tyr Asp His Lys Trp Glu Phe Pro Arg As - #n Arg Leu Ser Phe Gly          #           590                                                                - Lys Thr Leu Gly Ala Gly Ala Phe Gly Lys Va - #l Val Glu Ala Thr Ala          #       605                                                                    - Tyr Gly Leu Ile Lys Ser Asp Ala Ala Met Th - #r Val Ala Val Lys Met          #   620                                                                        - Leu Lys Pro Ser Ala His Leu Thr Glu Arg Gl - #u Ala Leu Met Ser Glu          625                 6 - #30                 6 - #35                 6 -        #40                                                                            - Leu Lys Val Leu Ser Tyr Leu Gly Asn His Me - #t Asn Ile Val Asn Leu          #               655                                                            - Leu Gly Ala Cys Thr Ile Gly Gly Pro Thr Le - #u Val Ile Thr Glu Tyr          #           670                                                                - Cys Cys Tyr Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn Phe Leu Ar - #g Arg Lys Arg Asp Ser          #       685                                                                    - Phe Ile Cys Ser Lys Gln Glu Asp His Ala Gl - #u Ala Ala Leu Tyr Lys          #   700                                                                        - Asn Leu Leu His Ser Lys Glu Ser Ser Cys Se - #r Asp Ser Thr Asn Glu          705                 7 - #10                 7 - #15                 7 -        #20                                                                            - Tyr Met Asp Met Lys Pro Gly Val Ser Tyr Va - #l Val Pro Thr Lys Ala          #               735                                                            - Asp Lys Arg Arg Ser Val Arg Ile Gly Ser Ty - #r Ile Glu Arg Asp Val          #           750                                                                - Thr Pro Ala Ile Met Glu Asp Asp Glu Leu Al - #a Leu Asp Leu Glu Asp          #       765                                                                    - Leu Leu Ser Phe Ser Tyr Gln Val Ala Lys Gl - #y Met Ala Phe Leu Ala          #   780                                                                        - Ser Lys Asn Cys Ile His Arg Asp Leu Ala Al - #a Arg Asn Ile Leu Leu          785                 7 - #90                 7 - #95                 8 -        #00                                                                            - Thr His Gly Arg Ile Thr Lys Ile Cys Asp Ph - #e Gly Leu Ala Arg Asp          #               815                                                            - Ile Lys Asn Asp Ser Asn Tyr Val Val Lys Gl - #y Asn Ala Arg Leu Pro          #           830                                                                - Val Lys Trp Met Ala Pro Glu Ser Ile Phe As - #n Cys Val Tyr Thr Phe          #       845                                                                    - Glu Ser Asp Val Trp Ser Tyr Gly Ile Phe Le - #u Trp Glu Leu Phe Ser          #   860                                                                        - Leu Gly Ser Ser Pro Tyr Pro Gly Met Pro Va - #l Asp Ser Lys Phe Tyr          865                 8 - #70                 8 - #75                 8 -        #80                                                                            - Lys Met Ile Lys Glu Gly Phe Arg Met Leu Se - #r Pro Glu His Ala Pro          #               895                                                            - Ala Glu Met Tyr Asp Ile Met Lys Thr Cys Tr - #p Asp Ala Asp Pro Leu          #           910                                                                - Lys Arg Pro Thr Phe Lys Gln Ile Val Gln Le - #u Ile Glu Lys Gln Ile          #       925                                                                    - Ser Glu Ser Thr Asn His Ile Tyr Ser Asn Le - #u Ala Asn Cys Ser Pro          #   940                                                                        - Asn Arg Gln Lys Pro Val Val Asp His Ser Va - #l Arg Ile Asn Ser Val          945                 9 - #50                 9 - #55                 9 -        #60                                                                            - Gly Ser Thr Ala Ser Ser Ser Gln Pro Leu Le - #u Val His Asp Asp Val          #               975                                                            - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 972 amino                                                          (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:                                  - Met Gly Pro Gly Val Leu Leu Leu Leu Leu Va - #l Ala Thr Ala Trp His          #                15                                                            - Gly Gln Gly Ile Pro Val Ile Glu Pro Ser Va - #l Pro Glu Leu Val Val          #            30                                                                - Lys Pro Gly Ala Thr Val Thr Leu Arg Cys Va - #l Gly Asn Gly Ser Val          #        45                                                                    - Glu Trp Asp Gly Pro Pro Ser Pro His Trp Th - #r Leu Tyr Ser Asp Gly          #    60                                                                        - Ser Ser Ser Ile Leu Ser Thr Asn Asn Ala Th - #r Phe Gln Asn Thr Gly          #80                                                                            - Thr Tyr Arg Cys Thr Glu Pro Gly Asp Pro Le - #u Gly Gly Ser Ala Ala          #                95                                                            - Ile His Leu Tyr Val Lys Asp Pro Ala Arg Pr - #o Trp Asn Val Leu Ala          #           110                                                                - Gln Glu Val Val Val Phe Glu Asp Gln Asp Al - #a Leu Leu Pro Cys Leu          #       125                                                                    - Leu Thr Asp Pro Val Leu Glu Ala Gly Val Se - #r Leu Val Arg Val Arg          #   140                                                                        - Gly Arg Pro Leu Met Arg His Thr Asn Tyr Se - #r Phe Ser Pro Trp His          145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -        #60                                                                            - Gly Phe Thr Ile His Arg Ala Lys Phe Ile Gl - #n Ser Gln Asp Tyr Gln          #               175                                                            - Cys Ser Ala Leu Met Gly Gly Arg Lys Val Me - #t Ser Ile Ser Ile Arg          #           190                                                                - Leu Lys Val Gln Lys Val Ile Pro Gly Pro Pr - #o Ala Leu Thr Leu Val          #       205                                                                    - Pro Ala Glu Leu Val Arg Ile Arg Gly Glu Al - #a Ala Gln Ile Val Cys          #   220                                                                        - Ser Ala Ser Ser Val Asp Val Asn Phe Asp Va - #l Phe Leu Gln His Asn          225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -        #40                                                                            - Asn Thr Lys Leu Ala Ile Pro Gln Gln Ser As - #p Phe His Asn Asn Arg          #               255                                                            - Tyr Gln Lys Val Leu Thr Leu Asn Leu Asp Gl - #n Val Asp Phe Gln His          #           270                                                                - Ala Gly Asn Tyr Ser Cys Val Ala Ser Asn Va - #l Gln Gly Lys His Ser          #       285                                                                    - Thr Ser Met Phe Phe Arg Val Val Glu Ser Al - #a Tyr Leu Asn Leu Ser          #   300                                                                        - Ser Glu Gln Asn Leu Ile Gln Glu Val Thr Va - #l Gly Glu Gly Leu Asn          305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -        #20                                                                            - Leu Lys Val Met Val Glu Ala Tyr Pro Gly Le - #u Gln Gly Phe Asn Trp          #               335                                                            - Thr Tyr Leu Gly Pro Phe Ser Asp His Gln Pr - #o Glu Pro Lys Leu Ala          #           350                                                                - Asn Ala Thr Thr Lys Asp Thr Tyr Arg His Th - #r Phe Thr Leu Ser Leu          #       365                                                                    - Pro Arg Leu Lys Pro Ser Glu Ala Gly Arg Ty - #r Ser Phe Leu Ala Arg          #   380                                                                        - Asn Pro Gly Gly Trp Arg Ala Leu Thr Phe Gl - #u Leu Thr Leu Arg Tyr          385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -        #00                                                                            - Pro Pro Glu Val Ser Val Ile Trp Thr Phe Il - #e Asn Gly Ser Gly Thr          #               415                                                            - Leu Leu Cys Ala Ala Ser Gly Tyr Pro Gln Pr - #o Asn Val Thr Trp Leu          #           430                                                                - Gln Cys Ser Gly His Thr Asp Arg Cys Asp Gl - #u Ala Gln Val Leu Gln          #       445                                                                    - Val Trp Asp Asp Pro Tyr Pro Glu Val Leu Se - #r Gln Glu Pro Phe His          #   460                                                                        - Lys Val Thr Val Gln Ser Leu Leu Thr Val Gl - #u Thr Leu Glu His Asn          465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -        #80                                                                            - Gln Thr Tyr Glu Cys Arg Ala His Asn Ser Va - #l Gly Ser Gly Ser Trp          #               495                                                            - Ala Phe Ile Pro Ile Ser Ala Gly Ala His Th - #r His Pro Pro Asp Glu          #           510                                                                - Phe Leu Phe Thr Pro Val Val Val Ala Cys Me - #t Ser Ile Met Ala Leu          #       525                                                                    - Leu Leu Leu Leu Leu Leu Leu Leu Leu Tyr Ly - #s Tyr Lys Gln Lys Pro          #   540                                                                        - Lys Tyr Gln Val Arg Trp Lys Ile Ile Glu Se - #r Tyr Glu Gly Asn Ser          545                 5 - #50                 5 - #55                 5 -        #60                                                                            - Tyr Thr Phe Ile Asp Pro Thr Gln Leu Pro Ty - #r Asn Glu Lys Trp Glu          #               575                                                            - Phe Pro Arg Asn Asn Leu Gln Phe Gly Lys Th - #r Leu Gly Ala Gly Ala          #           590                                                                - Phe Gly Lys Val Val Glu Ala Thr Ala Phe Gl - #y Leu Gly Lys Glu Asp          #       605                                                                    - Ala Val Leu Lys Val Ala Val Lys Met Leu Ly - #s Ser Thr Ala His Ala          #   620                                                                        - Asp Glu Lys Glu Ala Leu Met Ser Glu Leu Ly - #s Ile Met Ser His Leu          625                 6 - #30                 6 - #35                 6 -        #40                                                                            - Gly Gln His Glu Asn Ile Val Asn Leu Leu Gl - #y Ala Cys Thr His Gly          #               655                                                            - Gly Pro Val Leu Val Ile Thr Glu Tyr Cys Cy - #s Tyr Gly Asp Leu Leu          #           670                                                                - Asn Phe Leu Arg Arg Lys Ala Glu Ala Met Le - #u Gly Pro Ser Leu Ser          #       685                                                                    - Pro Gly Gln Asp Pro Glu Gly Gly Val Asp Ty - #r Lys Asn Ile His Leu          #   700                                                                        - Glu Lys Lys Tyr Val Arg Arg Asp Ser Gly Ph - #e Ser Ser Gln Gly Val          705                 7 - #10                 7 - #15                 7 -        #20                                                                            - Asp Thr Tyr Val Glu Met Arg Pro Val Ser Th - #r Ser Ser Asn Asp Ser          #               735                                                            - Phe Ser Glu Gln Asp Leu Asp Lys Glu Asp Gl - #y Arg Pro Leu Glu Leu          #           750                                                                - Arg Asp Leu Leu His Phe Ser Ser Gln Val Al - #a Gln Gly Met Ala Phe          #       765                                                                    - Leu Ala Ser Lys Asn Cys Ile His Arg Asp Va - #l Ala Ala Arg Asn Val          #   780                                                                        - Leu Leu Thr Asn Gly His Val Ala Lys Ile Gl - #y Asp Phe Gly Leu Ala          785                 7 - #90                 7 - #95                 8 -        #00                                                                            - Arg Asp Ile Met Asn Asp Ser Asn Tyr Ile Va - #l Lys Gly Asn Ala Arg          #               815                                                            - Leu Pro Val Lys Trp Met Ala Pro Glu Ser Il - #e Phe Asp Cys Val Tyr          #           830                                                                - Thr Val Gln Ser Asp Val Trp Ser Tyr Gly Il - #e Leu Leu Trp Glu Ile          #       845                                                                    - Phe Ser Leu Gly Leu Asn Pro Tyr Pro Gly Il - #e Leu Val Asn Ser Lys          #   860                                                                        - Phe Tyr Lys Leu Val Lys Asp Gly Tyr Gln Me - #t Ala Gln Pro Ala Phe          865                 8 - #70                 8 - #75                 8 -        #80                                                                            - Ala Pro Lys Asn Ile Tyr Ser Ile Met Gln Al - #a Cys Trp Ala Leu Glu          #               895                                                            - Pro Thr His Arg Pro Thr Phe Gln Gln Ile Cy - #s Ser Phe Leu Gln Glu          #           910                                                                - Gln Ala Gln Glu Asp Arg Arg Glu Arg Asp Ty - #r Thr Asn Leu Pro Ser          #       925                                                                    - Ser Ser Arg Ser Gly Gly Ser Gly Ser Ser Se - #r Ser Glu Leu Glu Glu          #   940                                                                        - Glu Ser Ser Ser Glu His Leu Thr Cys Cys Gl - #u Gln Gly Asp Ile Ala          945                 9 - #50                 9 - #55                 9 -        #60                                                                            - Gln Pro Leu Leu Gln Pro Asn Asn Tyr Gln Ph - #e Cys                          #               970                                                            - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 1338 amino                                                         (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:                                  - Met Val Ser Tyr Trp Asp Thr Gly Val Leu Le - #u Cys Ala Leu Leu Ser          #                15                                                            - Cys Leu Leu Leu Thr Gly Ser Ser Ser Gly Se - #r Lys Leu Lys Asp Pro          #            30                                                                - Glu Leu Ser Leu Lys Gly Thr Gln His Ile Me - #t Gln Ala Gly Gln Thr          #        45                                                                    - Leu His Leu Gln Cys Arg Gly Glu Ala Ala Hi - #s Lys Trp Ser Leu Pro          #    60                                                                        - Glu Met Val Ser Lys Glu Ser Glu Arg Leu Se - #r Ile Thr Lys Ser Ala          #80                                                                            - Cys Gly Arg Asn Gly Lys Gln Phe Cys Ser Th - #r Leu Thr Leu Asn Thr          #                95                                                            - Ala Gln Ala Asn His Thr Gly Phe Tyr Ser Cy - #s Lys Tyr Leu Ala Val          #           110                                                                - Pro Thr Ser Lys Lys Lys Glu Thr Glu Ser Al - #a Ile Tyr Ile Phe Ile          #       125                                                                    - Ser Asp Thr Gly Arg Pro Phe Val Glu Met Ty - #r Ser Glu Ile Pro Glu          #   140                                                                        - Ile Ile His Met Thr Glu Gly Arg Glu Leu Va - #l Ile Pro Cys Arg Val          145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -        #60                                                                            - Thr Ser Pro Asn Ile Thr Val Thr Leu Lys Ly - #s Phe Pro Leu Asp Thr          #               175                                                            - Leu Ile Pro Asp Gly Lys Arg Ile Ile Trp As - #p Ser Arg Lys Gly Phe          #           190                                                                - Ile Ile Ser Asn Ala Thr Tyr Lys Glu Ile Gl - #y Leu Leu Thr Cys Glu          #       205                                                                    - Ala Thr Val Asn Gly His Leu Tyr Lys Thr As - #n Tyr Leu Thr His Arg          #   220                                                                        - Gln Thr Asn Thr Ile Ile Asp Val Gln Ile Se - #r Thr Pro Arg Pro Val          225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -        #40                                                                            - Lys Leu Leu Arg Gly His Thr Leu Val Leu As - #n Cys Thr Ala Thr Thr          #               255                                                            - Pro Leu Asn Thr Arg Val Gln Met Thr Trp Se - #r Tyr Pro Asp Glu Lys          #           270                                                                - Asn Lys Arg Ala Ser Val Arg Arg Arg Ile As - #p Gln Ser Asn Ser His          #       285                                                                    - Ala Asn Ile Phe Tyr Ser Val Leu Thr Ile As - #p Lys Met Gln Asn Lys          #   300                                                                        - Asp Lys Gly Leu Tyr Thr Cys Arg Val Arg Se - #r Gly Pro Ser Phe Lys          305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -        #20                                                                            - Ser Val Asn Thr Ser Val His Ile Tyr Asp Ly - #s Ala Phe Ile Thr Val          #               335                                                            - Lys His Arg Lys Gln Gln Val Leu Glu Thr Va - #l Ala Gly Lys Arg Ser          #           350                                                                - Tyr Arg Leu Ser Met Lys Val Lys Ala Phe Pr - #o Ser Pro Glu Val Val          #       365                                                                    - Trp Leu Lys Asp Gly Leu Pro Ala Thr Glu Ly - #s Ser Ala Arg Tyr Leu          #   380                                                                        - Thr Arg Gly Tyr Ser Leu Ile Ile Lys Asp Va - #l Thr Glu Glu Asp Ala          385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -        #00                                                                            - Gly Asn Tyr Thr Ile Leu Leu Ser Ile Lys Gl - #n Ser Asn Val Phe Lys          #               415                                                            - Asn Leu Thr Ala Thr Leu Ile Val Asn Val Ly - #s Pro Gln Ile Tyr Glu          #           430                                                                - Lys Ala Val Ser Ser Phe Pro Asp Pro Ala Le - #u Tyr Pro Leu Gly Ser          #       445                                                                    - Arg Gln Ile Leu Thr Cys Thr Ala Tyr Gly Il - #e Pro Gln Pro Thr Ile          #   460                                                                        - Lys Trp Phe Trp His Pro Cys Asn His Asn Hi - #s Ser Glu Ala Arg Cys          465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -        #80                                                                            - Asp Phe Cys Ser Asn Asn Glu Glu Ser Phe Il - #e Leu Asp Ala Asp Ser          #               495                                                            - Asn Met Gly Asn Arg Ile Glu Ser Ile Thr Gl - #n Arg Met Ala Ile Ile          #           510                                                                - Glu Gly Lys Asn Lys Met Ala Ser Thr Leu Va - #l Val Ala Asp Ser Arg          #       525                                                                    - Ile Ser Gly Ile Tyr Ile Cys Ile Ala Ser As - #n Lys Val Gly Thr Val          #   540                                                                        - Gly Arg Asn Ile Ser Phe Tyr Ile Thr Asp Va - #l Pro Asn Gly Phe His          545                 5 - #50                 5 - #55                 5 -        #60                                                                            - Val Asn Leu Glu Lys Met Pro Thr Glu Gly Gl - #u Asp Leu Lys Leu Ser          #               575                                                            - Cys Thr Val Asn Lys Phe Leu Tyr Arg Asp Va - #l Thr Trp Ile Leu Leu          #           590                                                                - Arg Thr Val Asn Asn Arg Thr Met His Tyr Se - #r Ile Ser Lys Gln Lys          #       605                                                                    - Met Ala Ile Thr Lys Glu His Ser Ile Thr Le - #u Asn Leu Thr Ile Met          #   620                                                                        - Asn Val Ser Leu Gln Asp Ser Gly Thr Tyr Al - #a Cys Arg Ala Arg Asn          625                 6 - #30                 6 - #35                 6 -        #40                                                                            - Val Tyr Thr Gly Glu Glu Ile Leu Gln Lys Ly - #s Glu Ile Thr Ile Arg          #               655                                                            - Asp Gln Glu Ala Pro Tyr Leu Leu Arg Asn Le - #u Ser Asp His Thr Val          #           670                                                                - Ala Ile Ser Ser Ser Thr Thr Leu Asp Cys Hi - #s Ala Asn Gly Val Pro          #       685                                                                    - Glu Pro Gln Ile Thr Trp Phe Lys Asn Asn Hi - #s Lys Ile Gln Gln Glu          #   700                                                                        - Pro Gly Ile Ile Leu Gly Pro Gly Ser Ser Th - #r Leu Phe Ile Glu Arg          705                 7 - #10                 7 - #15                 7 -        #20                                                                            - Val Thr Glu Glu Asp Glu Gly Val Tyr His Cy - #s Lys Ala Thr Asn Gln          #               735                                                            - Lys Gly Ser Val Glu Ser Ser Ala Tyr Leu Th - #r Val Gln Gly Thr Ser          #           750                                                                - Asp Lys Ser Asn Leu Glu Leu Ile Thr Leu Th - #r Cys Thr Cys Val Ala          #       765                                                                    - Ala Thr Leu Phe Trp Leu Leu Leu Thr Leu Le - #u Ile Arg Lys Met Lys          #   780                                                                        - Arg Ser Ser Ser Glu Ile Lys Thr Asp Tyr Le - #u Ser Ile Ile Met Asp          785                 7 - #90                 7 - #95                 8 -        #00                                                                            - Pro Asp Glu Val Pro Leu Asp Glu Gln Cys Gl - #u Arg Leu Pro Tyr Asp          #               815                                                            - Ala Ser Lys Trp Glu Phe Ala Arg Glu Arg Le - #u Lys Leu Gly Lys Ser          #           830                                                                - Leu Gly Arg Gly Ala Phe Gly Lys Val Val Gl - #n Ala Ser Ala Phe Gly          #       845                                                                    - Ile Lys Lys Ser Pro Thr Cys Arg Thr Val Al - #a Val Lys Met Leu Lys          #   860                                                                        - Glu Gly Ala Thr Ala Ser Glu Tyr Lys Ala Le - #u Met Thr Glu Leu Lys          865                 8 - #70                 8 - #75                 8 -        #80                                                                            - Ile Leu Thr His Ile Gly His His Leu Asn Va - #l Val Asn Leu Leu Gly          #               895                                                            - Ala Cys Thr Lys Gln Gly Gly Pro Leu Met Va - #l Ile Val Glu Tyr Cys          #           910                                                                - Lys Tyr Gly Asn Leu Ser Asn Tyr Leu Lys Se - #r Lys Arg Asp Leu Phe          #       925                                                                    - Phe Leu Asn Lys Asp Ala Ala Leu His Met Gl - #u Pro Lys Lys Glu Lys          #   940                                                                        - Met Glu Pro Gly Leu Glu Gln Gly Lys Lys Pr - #o Arg Leu Asp Ser Val          945                 9 - #50                 9 - #55                 9 -        #60                                                                            - Thr Ser Ser Glu Ser Phe Ala Ser Ser Gly Ph - #e Gln Glu Asp Lys Ser          #               975                                                            - Leu Ser Asp Val Glu Glu Glu Glu Asp Ser As - #p Gly Phe Tyr Lys Glu          #           990                                                                - Pro Ile Thr Met Glu Asp Leu Ile Ser Tyr Se - #r Phe Gln Val Ala Arg          #      10050                                                                   - Gly Met Glu Phe Leu Ser Ser Arg Lys Cys Il - #e His Arg Asp Leu Ala          #  10205                                                                       - Ala Arg Asn Ile Leu Leu Ser Glu Asn Asn Va - #l Val Lys Ile Cys Asp          #               10401030 - #                1035                               - Phe Gly Leu Ala Arg Asp Ile Tyr Lys Asn Pr - #o Asp Tyr Val Arg Lys          #              10550                                                           - Gly Asp Thr Arg Leu Pro Leu Lys Trp Met Al - #a Pro Glu Ser Ile Phe          #          10705                                                               - Asp Lys Ile Tyr Ser Thr Lys Ser Asp Val Tr - #p Ser Tyr Gly Val Leu          #      10850                                                                   - Leu Trp Glu Ile Phe Ser Leu Gly Gly Ser Pr - #o Tyr Pro Gly Val Gln          #  11005                                                                       - Met Asp Glu Asp Phe Cys Ser Arg Leu Arg Gl - #u Gly Met Arg Met Arg          #               11201110 - #                1115                               - Ala Pro Glu Tyr Ser Thr Pro Glu Ile Tyr Gl - #n Ile Met Leu Asp Cys          #              11350                                                           - Trp His Arg Asp Pro Lys Glu Arg Pro Arg Ph - #e Ala Glu Leu Val Glu          #          11505                                                               - Lys Leu Gly Asp Leu Leu Gln Ala Asn Val Gl - #n Gln Asp Gly Lys Asp          #      11650                                                                   - Tyr Ile Pro Ile Asn Ala Ile Leu Thr Gly As - #n Ser Gly Phe Thr Tyr          #  11805                                                                       - Ser Thr Pro Ala Phe Ser Glu Asp Phe Phe Ly - #s Glu Ser Ile Ser Ala          #               12001190 - #                1195                               - Pro Lys Phe Asn Ser Gly Ser Ser Asp Asp Va - #l Arg Tyr Val Asn Ala          #              12150                                                           - Phe Lys Phe Met Ser Leu Glu Arg Ile Lys Th - #r Phe Glu Glu Leu Leu          #          12305                                                               - Pro Asn Ala Thr Ser Met Phe Asp Asp Tyr Gl - #n Gly Asp Ser Ser Thr          #      12450                                                                   - Leu Leu Ala Ser Pro Met Leu Lys Arg Phe Th - #r Trp Thr Asp Ser Lys          #  12605                                                                       - Pro Lys Ala Ser Leu Lys Ile Asp Leu Arg Va - #l Thr Ser Lys Ser Lys          #               12801270 - #                1275                               - Glu Ser Gly Leu Ser Asp Val Ser Arg Pro Se - #r Phe Cys His Ser Ser          #              12950                                                           - Cys Gly His Val Ser Glu Gly Lys Arg Arg Ph - #e Thr Tyr Asp His Ala          #          13105                                                               - Glu Leu Glu Arg Lys Ile Ala Cys Cys Ser Pr - #o Pro Pro Asp Tyr Asn          #      13250                                                                   - Ser Val Val Leu Tyr Ser Thr Pro Pro Ile                                      #   1335                                                                       - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 398 base                                                           (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                 -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:                                  - AGAGTGCGCC AACGAGCCCA GCCAAGCTGT CTCAGTGACA AACCCATACC CT - #TGTGAAGA          60                                                                           - ATGGAGAAGT GTGGAGGACT TCCAGGGAGG AAATAAAATT GAAGTTAATA AA - #AATCAATT         120                                                                           - TGCTCTAATT GAAGGAAAAA ACAAAACTGT AAGTACCCTT GTTATCCAAG CG - #GCAAATGT         180                                                                           - GTCAGCTTTG TACAAATGTG AAGCGGTCAA CAAAGTCGGG AGAGGAGAGA GG - #GTGATCTC         240                                                                           - CTTCCACGTG ACCAGGGGTC CTGAAATTAC TTTGCAACCT GACATGCAGC CC - #ACTGAGCA         300                                                                           - GGAGAGCGTG TCTTTGTGGT GCACTGCAGA CAGATCTACG TTTGAGAACC TC - #ACATGGTA         360                                                                           #    398           CCTC TGCCAATCCA TGTGGGAG                                    - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 551 base                                                           (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                 -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:                                  - ACCCCTGTAA CCATAATCAT TCCGAAGCAA GGTGTGACTT TTGTTCCAAT AA - #TGAAGAGT          60                                                                           - CCTTTATCCT GGATGCTGAC AGCAACATGG GAAACAGAAT TGAGAGCATC AC - #TCAGCGCA         120                                                                           - TGGCAATAAT AGAAGGAAAG AATAAGATGG CTAGCACCTT GGTTGTGGCT GA - #CTCTAGAA         180                                                                           - TTTCTGGAAT CTACATTTGC ATAGCTTCCA ATAAAGTTGG GACTGTGGGA AG - #AAACATAA         240                                                                           - GCTTTTATAT CACAGATGTG CCAAATGGGT TTCATGTTAA CTTGGAAAAA AT - #GCCGACGG         300                                                                           - AAGGAGAGGA CCTGAAACTG TCTTGCACAG TTAACAAGTT CTTATACAGA GA - #CGTTACTT         360                                                                           - GGATTTTACT GCGGACAGTT AATAACAGAA CAATGCACTA CAGTATTAGC AA - #GCAAAAAA         420                                                                           - TGGCCATCAC TAAGGAGCAC TCCATCACTC TTAATCTTAC CATCATGAAT GT - #TTCCCTGC         480                                                                           - AAGATTCAGG CACCTATGCC TGCAGAGCCA GGAATGTATA CACAGGGGAA GA - #AATCCTCC         540                                                                           #      551                                                                     - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 338 base                                                           (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                 -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:                                  - GAGAGCATCA CTCAGCGCAT GGCAATAATA GAAGGAAAGA ATAAGATGGC TA - #GCACCTTG          60                                                                           - GTTGTGGCTG ACTCTAGAAT TTCTGGAATC TACATTTGCA TAGCTTCCAA TA - #AAGTTGGG         120                                                                           - ACTGTGGGAA GAAACATAAG CTTTTATATC ACAGAATTGT CAAACTTTGA GT - #GCCTTCAT         180                                                                           - CCTTGCTCTC AGGAATAGAA CTCTACCTCA TCGGATCTCA TGTGCCAAAT GG - #GTTTCATG         240                                                                           - TTAACTTGGA AAAAATGCCG ACGGAAGGAG AGGACCTGAA ACTGTCTTGC AC - #AGTTAACA         300                                                                           #    338           CGTT ACTTGGATTT TACTGCGG                                    - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 358 base                                                           (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                                 -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7:                                  - GAGAGCATCA CTCAGCGCAT GGCAATAATA GAAGGAAAGA ATAAGCTTCC AC - #CAGCTGAC          60                                                                           - AGTTCTTTCA TGTTGCCACC TACAAGCTTC TCTTCCAACT ACTTCCATTT CC - #TTCCGTGA         120                                                                           - CTCTAAACGG ATGGCTAGCA CCTTGGTTGT GGCTGACTCT AGAATTTCTG GA - #ATCTACAT         180                                                                           - TTGCATAGCT TCCAATAAAG TTGGGACTGT GGGAAGAAAC ATAAGCTTTT AT - #ATCACAGA         240                                                                           - TGTGCCAAAT GGGTTTCATG TTAACTTGGA AAAAATGCCG ACGGAAGGAG AG - #GACCTGAA         300                                                                           - ACTGTCTTGC ACAGTTAACA AGTTCTTATA CAGAGACGTT ACTTGGATTT TA - #CTGCGG           358                                                                           - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 65 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8:                                  - Glu Ser Ile Thr Gln Arg Met Ala Ile Ile Gl - #u Gly Lys Asn Lys Met          #                15                                                            - Ala Ser Thr Leu Val Val Ala Asp Ser Arg Il - #e Ser Gly Ile Tyr Ile          #            30                                                                - Cys Ile Ala Ser Asn Lys Val Gly Thr Val Gl - #y Arg Asn Ile Ser Phe          #        45                                                                    - Tyr Ile Thr Glu Leu Ser Asn Phe Glu Cys Le - #u His Pro Cys Ser Gln          #    60                                                                        - Glu                                                                          65                                                                             - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 39 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9:                                  - Glu Ser Ile Thr Gln Arg Met Ala Ile Ile Gl - #u Gly Lys Asn Lys Leu          #                15                                                            - Pro Pro Ala Asp Ser Ser Phe Met Leu Pro Pr - #o Thr Ser Phe Ser Ser          #            30                                                                - Asn Tyr Phe His Phe Leu Pro                                                          35                                                                     - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 19 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "PRIMER"A) DESCRIPTION: /desc                                               -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10:                                 # 19               TTC                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 20 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "PRIMER"A) DESCRIPTION: /desc                                               -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11:                                 # 20               TGTA                                                        - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 20 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "PRIMER"A) DESCRIPTION: /desc                                               -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12:                                 # 20               GTTC                                                        - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 21 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "PRIMER"A) DESCRIPTION: /desc                                               -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13:                                 #21                CTCA G                                                      - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 21 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "PRIMER"A) DESCRIPTION: /desc                                               -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14:                                 #21                ATCC A                                                      - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 20 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "PRIMER"A) DESCRIPTION: /desc                                               -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15:                                 # 20               TGTA                                                        - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 14 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16:                                 - Glu Leu Ser Asn Phe Glu Cys Leu His Pro Cy - #s Ser Gln Glu                  #                10                                                            - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 24 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                    -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17:                                 - Leu Pro Pro Ala Asp Ser Ser Phe Met Leu Pr - #o Pro Thr Ser Phe Ser          #                15                                                            - Ser Asn Tyr Phe His Phe Leu Pro                                                          20                                                                 __________________________________________________________________________ 

We claim:
 1. An isolated, soluble polypeptide selected from the group consisting of:(a) a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence consisting of amino acid residues 1 to 553 of SEQ ID NO:3; (b) a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence consisting of amino acid residues 1 to 517 of SEQ ID NO:3; (c) a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence consisting of amino acid residues 1 to 553 of SEQ ID NO:3 with the addition of the sequence ELSNFECLHPCSQE (SEQ ID NO:16) at its C-terminal end; (d) a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence consisting of amino acid residues 1 to 517 of SEQ ID NO:3 with the addition of the sequence LPPADSSFMLPPTSFSSNYFHFLP (SEQ ID NO:17) at its C-terminal end; and (e) a truncated variant polypeptide of (a), (b), (c) or (d); wherein said truncated variant polypeptide consists of no more than five complete immunoglobulin-like domains; and wherin said trucated variant polypeptide both binds to and exerts an inhibitory effect on VEGF.
 2. The isolated soluble polypeptide of claim 1 which is a truncated variant polypeptide that consists of no more than four complete immunoglobulin-like domains.
 3. The isolated soluble polypeptide of claim 1 which is a truncated variant polypeptide that consists of from about 400 to about 500 amino acid residues.
 4. An isolated nucleic acid having a nucleotide sequence that encodes the isolated soluble polypeptide of claim 1 part (a),(b),(c) or (d), or claim
 3. 5. A method for inhibiting VEGF in vitro comprising adding an effective amount of the isolated soluble polypeptide of claims 1, 2 or
 3. 6. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the isolated soluble polypeptide of claims 1, 2 or 3, and a physiologically acceptable carrier. 